Maryland Can Lead the Way -- for Innovative Stormwater Management

October 3, 2008 | Clean Water, Greening Water Infrastructure, Stormwater & Sewage

Katherine Baer
Senior Director, Clean Water Program

Rain Garden [Photo: American Rivers Photo Library]

For clean water, I’m proud to be a Marylander, or is that a terrapin, or – well you get it. Back in 2007, Maryland passed the Environmental Site Design law, a proactive and innovative approach to controlling polluted stormwater runoff. The law requires that sites use environmental site design to the maximum extent practicable. The state just issued their timetable for rolling out their new rules. Advocates, including American Rivers, are working to make sure that the regulations implementing the law actually follow the law’s spirit and intent and incorporate the Principles for Environmental Site Design endorsed by the Maryland Stormwater Consortium.

If this law is applied as intended, it will lead to more rain gardens, green roofs, more attractive communities. We’ll be a leader in controlling stormwater. But more – Maryland will be a leader in using effective infrastructure, meaning using green and grey infrastructure together to maximize our natural capacity to weather storms and droughts. This is a smart strategy given the uncertainty associated with global warming that will fiercely affect our streams, rivers, and the Chesapeake Bay.

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